A Time For Hope
by Ballad of the Fool
Summary: Sequel to "Just Have Faith." Just as Sophie loses Hope, a familiar face finds them both.


**Author's Note:** Hello lovelies~ So I had a few requests to do a sequel to "_**Just Have Faith**_" so here you go~ I hope you all enjoy it and feel that it leads to a bit of a happier ending than the other. Thank you to everyone and your kind words! They inspired me so much, really. So with that said: reviews and criticism welcomed and encouraged.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing (except for Henry and the kiddies mentioned in here)

* * *

It was normal weather for this time of year. Stray gusts of cold winter winds in the first days of spring.

"Soph, don't let Hope wander too far into the woods, okay?" A male voice called from behind the longhaired blonde. She didn't even turn around to see his face—she didn't want to. "You're going to catch death if you don't at least put a jacket on."

"I'll be fine, Henry," Sophie replied as the cold wind caressed her face, "Ben needs to be picked up in twenty minutes."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be back soon." With that said, the man closed the door behind her and Sophie allowed her eyes to fall upon the little girl running around the large backyard. Sophie dug her hands further into her pockets. She hadn't been feeling like herself lately—perhaps she just needed to visit Jamie one of these days, he always knew how to brighten her life.

Her life? She didn't have a life anymore. It was always take care of the kids, make dinner for Henry and the kids, clean the house, try not to sleep on the couch, try not to argue with Henry in front of the kids. When she first married him, granted it was all for Jamie, because he needed the help that Henry's father's hospital could give him. He told her that she would still be able to continue her dreams of being a writer, but obviously it was much too late for that. She didn't know what she would be getting herself into; Henry's late nights 'at the firm,' Henry's excuses, Henry's lies. She wanted out but couldn't. She couldn't do that to them.

Their children—little Hope and little Benjamin. Hope was the splitting image of herself when she was younger while Benjamin looked more like Henry with each passing day. Marie was little firecracker and Benjamin was just getting into reading. Sophie blinked to bring herself back into reality and scanned the yard for her daughter and felt her heart jump out of her chest; she wasn't to be found.

"Hope!" Sophie called out, quickly walking down from the patio and unto the grass. It was cold; maybe she should have brought a jacket. But Sophie didn't spend too much time thinking about it when she decided to venture into the woods, calling out her daughter's name once more.

When did it start getting darker? Sophie's heart was racing. "Hope! Where are you?" Sophie yelled again, looking around in all directions. Suddenly a snapping twig caught her attention and Sophie began running towards the source, "Hope!"

_You stopped believing._

She pushed through the branches, tears welling up in her eyes. "Hope! Say something! Where are you?!"

_You stopped caring._

She kept looking to either side of her, looking for some sort of sign of her daughter; trying to rid herself of the voices in her head. "Hope! Honey, please!"

_You've lost faith._

Her vision was blurred and she suddenly collided into something; something hard and tall—she just assumed it was a tree… An oddly fuzzy tree. She broke down when the tree wrapped it's limbs around her. This had to be a bad dream. A terrible nightmare. She tightly squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm sorry!"

Obviously Sophie had enough sense to realize that this was obviously not a tree anymore, but she didn't care. Whoever it was allowed her to just cry in their arms, allowing them both to fall to the ground and they just rubbed her back. The person, by the sound of their voice, was a male and started humming a calming tune.

"It'll be okay, Sheila. I've got ya'."

The voice was so familiar and Sophie wished she could recall the face. She had to summon all of her strength to push herself away from the body, "No, I need…" she huffed, trying to compose herself, "I need to find my daughter."

The person pulled her back towards himself and put his hand (paw?) on the top of her head, "It's alright, Sophie. I found her. She's safe."

Sophie pulled away once more and forced herself up and away from the man, "Where? I don't believe you! You tell me where she is right now! I will call the police!" From the sounds of it, he was standing up as well.

There was a silence, "Have you really stopped believing?"

Sophie stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face the man, breathing heavily from her chest. A giant rabbit… Or at least what she thought was a rabbit. He sighed and slumped his shoulders a bit; "I'll take that as a yes."

Sophie opened her mouth to speak but nothing came. The tears welled up once more and her throat almost felt like it was burning, "I-I know you." The rabbit's ears perked up slightly, "I remember you. I still believe… I can still see you."

"But you lost faith."

The rabbit actually looked a bit hurt by this and shook his head, "I never lost faith in you. Not one bit, you know? The others said I had gone soft, but I didn't care because someone had to believe in you! You stopped believing in yourself! I thought you would be able to pull yourself out of this funk, but obviously I was wrong."

"I'm sorry, okay?! You don't understand what I had to do, what I had to let go of, just to get this far!" Sophie retorted, "And where were you? You said you would be there for me!"

"I was always there, Soph! You were just too blind to see!"

"I even named her after you! Hope! Born on Easter Sunday seven years ago!"

"Don't pin this on me, mate. You brought this upon yourself. I told you that you didn't have to married that stiff, but you did it anyway. You did it to help Jamie, great, but he wouldn't want you to live like this." Bunnymund crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes, "Crikey, you must be really stupid to have missed that."

Sophie just stared at him—he was right. She dropped her head and stared at the ground, stuttered a soft, "I'm sorry, Bunny."

Bunnymund just sighed and ran his paw down the front of his face and then walked over to Sophie and put his paws upon her shoulders, "You're not happy," he stated firmly, squeezing her shoulders lightly, "And it kills me to see you like this." Sophie sniffled and avoided his gaze. He rolled his eyes again, "Look at me. You need to believe in yourself. Take Hope and that little boy of yours and leave him. It will get better, I promise. Just have faith, if not in me, then yourself."

Sophie glanced up at him for a moment and then broke down once more, falling against the soft fur of Bunnymund. He just rubbed the woman's back for a moment, "And punch that gumby for telling the kids that the others and I don't exist. As far as you and I know, I exist just as much as you do." Sophie let out a soft chuckle and nuzzled into the fur.

Another few moments in the calming silence of the woods, Bunnymund pulled away from Sophie, "You probably want your little ankle-biter back, hm?"

"I would, yes, very much."

"Alright, wait here then." He took a few steps back, tapped his foot on the ground, and disappeared down the rabbit's hole.

Perhaps she would actually take Bunny's advice this go around. She knew he only wanted the best for her and it actually made Sophie laugh a little.

A voice pulled her back from her thoughts, "Mommy!" Sophie quickly turned around to see her little daughter running towards her, grasping an egg in hand. "Look at what I made with the Easter Bunny! Isn't it pretty?"

"Beautiful! I'm so proud of you!" Sophie scooped her child up into her arms and kissed her cheek.

Hope also held out a flower in her hand, "Mr. Bunny also wanted me to give this to you!" Sophie smiled even more and took the flower from the girl's hand,

"He's a nice bunny, isn't he?" Sophie asked and the girl smiled and nodded rapidly. They glanced over to Bunnymund, who was leaning against a tree, and slowly began walking towards them.

"Alright, you little ankle-biter, take care now, okay?" He playfully teased the small child, "And take care of your mother while you're at it." The girl smiled and nodded. Bunnymund turned his gaze towards Sophie,

"And you, smile more often and believe in yourself. I'll be watching you so no more slip ups." Bunnymund pointed a finger at her, a serious look upon his face. Sophie nodded.

"Good. Now I have to go. Easter is almost here and I'm behind on my eggs." Bunnymund took a few steps back, "But I'll always be here."

With that said, he waved to the both of them, tapped the ground, and gone in a flash, leaving only a flower behind.

Sophie looked at her daughter and smiled, "Lets go home, you need to pack your backpack! We're going to visit Uncle Jamie for a little bit."

After all, it was becoming spring, a time for hope—maybe all she needed was a new beginning for her and her family.


End file.
